TOGA AS AN ALTERNATIVE STEP THAT ARE UNDERESTIMATED

By : Khairillah Fathin

The world was created by the almighty with a state of balance. If something is broken then there are steps to fix it, if something is bad then there is good, and if something is sick then there is a way to heal it. Often in this modern era, humans used to take shortcuts if there is a problem, a small example is when we are sick, oftentimes the steps taken are drinking chemical-based drugs. dr. Nesochi Okeke-Igbokwe, an internal medicine specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center, said that taking large amounts of medication can put you at risk of drug interactions. In case this happens, it can result in the emergence of a number of symptoms such as feeling weak, decreased brain capacity, digestive disorders, heart palpitations, and skin problems.

Mindset of the community must be changed because taking shortcuts to solve problems is not the right answer. Preventive actions must be instilled in the community so that they have the view that prevention is better than cure. There are many preventive steps that the community can take to avoid disease, for example, by consuming foods that have high nutritional value and have a positive impact on the body. Increasing consumption of celery can treat high blood pressure, eating spinach leaves can prevent anemia, and eating papaya and guava can prevent dysentery and diarrhea. Various vegetables or fruits that have been mentioned can be easily found in everyday life, so living a healthy life is not an excuse to return.

All plants that have good benefits for the body and can be found easily are also called TOGA. TOGA in Indonesia is “Tanaman Obat Keluarga”, or also called family medicinal plants and or also known as a live pharmacy is a plant that is planted in the area around the house, yard, placed in pots or planted in small gardens. Due to its high efficacy, the Narotama University KKN group took the initiative to cultivate TOGA around the village of Ganggangpanjang, Sidoarjo. The KKN group worked with the village government to plant about 30 TOGA plants in Reco, Ganggangpanjang Village on 7th August 2022. TOGA can fulfill preventive (disease prevention), promotive (health promotion), curative (disease healing) and rehabilitative (health recovery) efforts. In addition, TOGA also functions to improve family welfare, among others, as a means to improve the nutritional status of the family, increase family income, improve the health of the residential environment, preserve medicinal plants and the nation's culture.

Through the small steps given by the KKN group at Narotama University, hopefully in the future more and more Governments will support and increase public knowledge of the benefits and use of medicinal plants that can be linked to the traditions of the local community so that treatment with medicinal plants is more rational so that a prosperous Indonesia can be achieved immediately.